


still got some fight

by Fives (janfives90)



Series: ain't going out like that [2]
Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F, weird west au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-08 16:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20838623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janfives90/pseuds/Fives
Summary: Greene stands under a tree near the horses, watching Nolan take practice shots at glass bottles set up on a log a distance away.“You’re a better shot than I would’ve guessed.”Nolan glances over her shoulder. “That’s a hell of a vote of confidence in somebody that you’ve basically coerced into helping."





	still got some fight

Greene stands under a tree near the horses, watching Nolan take practice shots at glass bottles set up on a log a distance away.

“You’re a better shot than I would’ve guessed.”

Nolan glances over her shoulder. “That’s a hell of a vote of confidence in somebody that you’ve basically coerced into helping.”

“I didn’t _coerce_ you,” Greene huffs.

“Could’ve fooled me.” Nolan walks back over to her and opens a bag on her horse’s saddle, taking out a few bullets and starting to reload.

“If we found the man who killed my father, would you be able to tell?” Greene asks, watching as Nolan slides bullets into her revolver.

“How would I be able to tell?”

“I’m not sure. With your…” She waves a hand in a general gesture.

Nolan blinks. “I’m a magician. What exactly do you think I can do? Read his mind?”

“Can you?”

“…No.”

Greene pouts. “Oh.” She pauses for a moment. “Is that what it’s called? Magician?”

“Hm? Uh, yeah, I guess so. That’s all I’ve ever heard.” She gives a strained smile. “Well, that and heathen, which I’m assuming is what you know us as.”

“I… I’m sorry. I…”

“You don’t need to be sorry. I’m used to it.” Nolan walks back to her position and takes another shot, shattering a beer bottle. “I heard it every day from my parents once they figured out what I am.”

She absentmindedly rubs at the sleeve of her shirt where it covers the thick black mark. “Your parents aren’t like you?”

“It doesn’t _have_ to pass through bloodline. Maybe one of them secretly is; who knows? It certainly didn’t matter either way.” Nolan picks up a small rock and spins it around in her hand. As Greene watches, the stone starts to glow as if it’s burning on the inside, and Nolan throws it at the targets.

The rock explodes on impact, shattering the remaining bottles.

Nolan turns, her eyes dark. “You told me that your father left and never came back. What makes you so sure he’s dead?”

Greene takes a few steps forward, her voice low. “What exactly are you implying?”

“I’ve met plenty of people in my travels who walked away from their families for one reason or another. They were alive and well. Some people just don’t want it anymore.”

Greene grabs Nolan by her suspenders and pushes her up against the tree. “My father would never do that,” she growls. “Do you understand me? He _loved_ me. He would’ve come back. If he was able to, he would’ve come back for me.”

“It’s easy to love someone and still disappoint them.”

She scoffs. “Yeah? And what makes you such an expert on the subject?”

Nolan is quiet for a moment, and Greene watches a surprising note of hurt flicker into her eyes. “Why don’t you ask my grandmother sometime?” She jerks her shoulders, tugging out of Greene’s grip, and walks to her horse. “Come on. You should go home before your mother notices you’ve left town.”

“She’s going to have to get used to it eventually if we’re going to leave.”

Nolan laughs. “Sure. But you’re not going to tell her any of that until I’m safely somewhere she can’t shoot me.”

“What?” Greene smirks and raises an eyebrow. “You can’t deflect bullets?”

“You know, I’ve never tried, and I really don’t want today to be the day I give it a test.”

* * *

She paces around her room, rubbing her thumb against the tattoo on her arm. “It doesn’t make sense,” she whispers. “This doesn’t make sense.”

If what Nolan said about magic not necessarily passing through bloodlines was true, then _maybe_ it…

“No.” Greene sits down on her bed and rubs at her eyes. “It’s just not possible. It’s… It’s just…”

_Just what?_

She swallows and pulls her sleeve back down.

* * *

The words on the wall hadn’t caught her attention when she walked into the saloon the first time. They do now, their faint blue glow imperceptible to anyone who isn’t like her.

Nolan reads them as subtly as she can as she walks up to the counter, trying not to draw any more attention to herself than she already does by virtue of being a stranger in a small rural town.

“What can I get you?” the barkeep asks, not really looking up.

“Whiskey.” Nolan leans on the counter. “With a shot of heat.”

The barkeep freezes, her knuckles going white as she grips the glass she’s filling. She comes back to her senses just in top to stop the liquor from overflowing, and she quickly delivers the drink to a man at the end of the bar before returning. “Uhm. With a shot of heat?”

“Yes, miss.”

She glances at the wall, and after a moment, she mumbles, “Okay.” The barkeep turns and takes one of the empty bottles off of a shelf, reaches under the counter, and fills it slowly. “That will be five.”

“Cheap for a whole bottle of whiskey,” Nolan says mildly as she takes five gold dollar coins out of her pocket and sets them on the counter.

“Why are you here?” the barkeep asks, her voice barely a whisper.

Nolan grins, trying to keep the atmosphere friendly. “Business.” She takes the bottle off of the counter and walks out of the bar.

* * *

Nolan paces along the deck on the second floor above the gunsmith’s shop, just outside of the room she’s staying in. She watches the street below her, the people walking, but she freezes and takes a few steps back to press against the building when she sees a man with a sheriff’s star on his vest walking towards the gunsmith’s shop.

She puts a hand on the pepperbox in her pocket and waits, holding her breath, as she hears him begin to speak to the gunsmith below her.

_“Sir. I hear you got a visit from the stranger that came into town a few days ago.”_

_“I did. She had to restock her ammunition from her journey. Is there a problem, sheriff?”_

_“I’d like to think there isn’t. The innkeeper has a few concerns that she might be… Well. You can probably guess.”_

The gunsmith snorts. _“Let me guess. In her words, a heathen? Last I checked, sheriff, having magic wasn’t against the law.”_

_“No, but you know as well as I do that it might as well be. I don’t need the girl stirring up trouble, especially with the innkeeper. I’d like to keep the peace.”_

_“You’re going to keep the peace by singling out one stranger?”_

The sheriff’s voice gets soft, so much so that Nolan needs to strain to hear him. _“I have no interest in making the girl a scapegoat. I only want to speak with her so that I can do my due diligence in ensuring she’s not a threat. It’s the job, sir.”_

_“Well, next I see her, I’ll tell her you’d like a word.”_

_“Thank you.”_

Nolan pushes closer against the outside of the building and watches the sheriff walk away, keeping her grip on her gun. She waits until he’s completely out of sight before she turns and steps back inside.

* * *

Greene stands in the livery, running her hand along her horse’s nose. The horse snorts and shakes his head, as if distressed, and she frowns. “What’s the matter, boy?”

He snorts again, a bit more panicked, but before she can try to soothe him a hand covers her mouth and an arm goes around her waist. She’s pulled backwards as she gives a muffled yell, and she twists and writhes and turns her head until she can bite down on the hand trying to silence her.

“For _fuck’s-”_

Greene turns and grabs the person by the collar of their shirt, slamming them into the door of the opposite stall. The horse inside gives a snort of protest as she stares, confused, at Nolan. “What in God’s name do you think you’re _doing_ you _fool?”_

“I’m trying _not_ to draw attention,” Nolan hisses, looking irritated. “Did you really have to _bite me?”_

“It’s what you deserve for grabbing me like you’re _kidnapping me.”_

“Does that happen often around here?” Nolan asks dryly.

Greene narrows her eyes. “Be quiet. What do you want?”

“Little hard to be quiet and answer a question at the same time.” Nolan taps a hand against one of Greene’s arms. “Also, would you mind letting me go?”

She steps back and releases Nolan’s shirt. “Just. What is going on?”

“If you want to go find what happened to your father, we need to leave soon. I should be getting an order from the gunsmith tomorrow, and once that happens I’m getting out of this town. If you’re so set on joining me, you need to be ready for it.”

Greene stares at her, watching as she takes her hat off of her head and fidgets with the brim. “You’re anxious,” she says quietly. “Why are you anxious?”

“I’m not,” Nolan insists.

“You are. Something’s scaring you.” Greene takes a small step forward, her voice a low murmur as she asks, “What are you running from?”

Nolan’s eyes widen, just a small amount that’s barely noticeable. “…I…” She swallows and puts her hat back on her head. “Just make sure you’re ready to leave when I am, miss. Coercion or not, I won’t wait for you.”

She turns and walks out of the livery, just a little too fast, and Greene watches with a troubled frown.

* * *

_“I don’t want someone like her in our town.”_

_“You must be reasonable, miss. I can’t throw someone out of shelter just because they have magic.”_

Greene creeps to her door and opens it just a crack, listening in as her mother has a conversation with the sheriff.

_“Why not? They don’t belong in our society. They’re too dangerous. They can’t be trusted around normal people.”_ Her mother pauses. _“Like my _daughter_.”_

There’s a hesitation in which Greene is fairly certain the sheriff is trying not to roll his eyes. _“Your daughter is more than capable of taking care of herself, miss. She’s not foolish enough to get caught up in someone dangerous.”_

_“You don’t know my daughter. She’s been so lost since her father left. I worry that she’ll fall prey to some heathen’s temptations and be harmed, under the false pretense that they can help her find him.”_

_“You can’t blame the girl for being curious. Children are bound to want to learn, aren’t they?”_

Her mother’s voice gets harsh. _“She doesn’t need to learn anything about that heathen or her magic.”_

_“Well, regardless, she’s broken no laws. I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but I’m not your personal warden. I can’t run people out of town on your say-so, miss.”_

_“Hm. We’ll see about that.”_

_“…I guess we will.”_

Greene times the closing of her door with the sheriff’s departure, and she lets out a breath as she rests her forehead against the wall.

She had no idea that her mother was that aware of her turmoil over her father’s presumed death.

All it does is make her even more determined to leave to find the truth.

* * *

Greene puts her final package of supplies into the bag on her horse’s saddle. She’s been sneaking things out slowly, getting ready, steeling herself for the moment that they’re ready to go and she has to tell her mother what her plan is.

She’s getting her horse together for a little practice run to test the weight and balance of it all when she hears a loud commotion outside and goes to investigate.

“What’s going on?” she asks, grabbing the sheriff’s arm as he tries to run past her.

“I don’t have time, miss,” he says.

She tightens his grip. “Sir,” she says quietly. “Please.”

The sheriff sighs. “That stranger from out of town. I just got the most recent shipment of wanted notices from the surrounding towns, and one of them matches her description.”

Greene feels her stomach drop. “Wanted notice? For what?”

“Train robbery. I need to go. Excuse me, miss.” The sheriff pulls away from her and sprints towards the gunsmith’s shop.

Greene stands at the front of the livery, stunned silent.

The sound of gunfire startles her back to reality, and she backs up towards her horse’s stall, terrified.

She flinches as a flash of fire breaks through the wall at the back of the livery before extinguishing itself immediately, and she stares in shock as Nolan blinks at her briefly before walking towards her own horse’s stall.

“Slight change of plans,” she says, tying a rifle to her saddle. “I’m leaving right now.”

Greene gapes at her. “A-Are… How…” Anger takes over her fear, and she pins Nolan against the wall, taking the revolver out of its holster and pressing it under Nolan’s chin. “What did you do?”

“You know,” Nolan says, her voice mild, “if you keep pinning me against things, Greene, I’m going to start wondering if you’re intending something else.”

Greene blinks, baffled. “I’m holding a _gun_ and you’re _flirting?”_

Nolan shrugs. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“I-I… You…” Greene swallows. “You’re a _train robber?”_

“…Oh. That. Somebody told you about that?” Nolan glances towards the front of the livery. “Actually, that would explain why everyone’s trying to shoot me all of a sudden.”

Greene presses the gun harder against her jaw. “I gave you my name,” she whispers. “I trusted you, and you probably didn’t even give me your real name.”

Nolan studies her for a moment before reaching up and taking her hand, gently lowering the gun. “It’s my real name,” she says softly. “You _can_ trust me. I know it’s probably hard to right now, but you can.”

“You’re a thief,” Greene whimpers, stepping back and letting the gun slip back into Nolan’s grip. She holsters it as she watches Greene pace. “You’re a _thief_, and a _heathen_, and you’re probably a _liar, _and I can’t believe my mother was right. I got so caught up in wanting to go find out what happened to my father that I let myself get caught up in-.”

“I didn’t do it.”

She stops dead. “What?”

“I didn’t steal anything. It was a misunderstanding.”

Greene turns to her, exasperated. “How does that get _misunderstood?”_

“Pretty easily.” Nolan shrugs and looks away. “Somebody robs a train and I’m the only magician around to take the blame for it.”

“…Oh,” Greene whispers.

Nolan opens her horse’s stall. “I need to go. The sheriff isn’t an idiot. He’ll come here soon enough.”

“I’m going with you.”

She looks at Greene, surprised. “Why?”

“I still want to find my father’s killer,” she says with a shrug. “And I believe what you say. No matter how much I feel like it might be a mistake to keep trusting you.”

“It’s hard to not trust someone who knows your name,” Nolan says softly.

Greene holds her gaze. “Yes. It is.” She swallows and closes her eyes. “I… There’s one other reason. I… I think I need you.”

Nolan raises an eyebrow. “Uh…”

“Not like _that,_ you unrepentant asshole,” Greene mutters. “I mean… uh… I-I think…” She swallows. “I think I might… have… magic…”

Nolan coughs so hard that she looks like she’s going to fall off her horse. “Excuse me?”

“This showed up. Not long after I met you.” She pulls back her sleeve, revealing the black mark. “Given that I can see yours, and it doesn’t seem like everyone can, I… I feel like that means something?”

“There are some things that only people with magic can see,” Nolan says slowly. “Like marks like that. I tried to rationalize it before, but… I _have_ heard of it waking in people later in life…”

“So it’s true?” Greene whispers. She brushes her fingers across the tattoo. “I… That’s what this means?”

“As far as I know, yes, but we can’t know for certain unless you actually use some magic.” She glances around the livery. “Once we’re further away, we’ll test it?”

Greene nods. “Okay.” She gets onto her horse. “Are you… Are you sure you trust me?”

Nolan laughs. “At this point, Greene, we’re going to need to just assume that we both can trust the other and go with it.”

She echoes the laugh. “Honestly, that might be easier.”

Nolan holds out a hand, and Greene watches in amazement as the sand of the street suddenly kicks up, filling the air and clouding the view. Nolan takes her bandana off of her neck and hands it to her. “Cover your nose and mouth. This is never a pleasant trip, but it will keep them from seeing us.”

“What about you?” Greene asks as she does what she’s told.

“I’ll be fine.” Nolan hesitates, then reaches out and takes the reins of Greene’s horse. “Will he follow if I lead instead of you giving instructions?”

“If I tell him to, yes. Why?”

Nolan pulls her hat down on her head a bit as if shielding her eyes as best she can. “Close your eyes, too, Greene.”

“Nolan…”

“Would you just do it before I decide to quit being so chivalrous?” Nolan says, a grumpy tone to her voice that doesn’t sound genuine.

Greene reaches over and wipes a small stain of soot off of Nolan’s cheek. “Just be careful, okay?”

“I would say that I always am, but given the events of… every day since you’ve known me, I don’t think that would be reassuring.”

She laughs. “No; not really.”

Greene closes her eyes and mumbles an instruction to her horse, and both riders disappear into the cloud of sand and dirt.


End file.
